Mohammad Al Abar, department director general, praised the move as a qualitative jump in the performance of the department in terms of effectiveness and swiftness of public transactions, WAM added.

This portal came in service to maximize the activated e-services of the Dubai e-government which were announced by Sheikh Mohammad in April 2000.

The initiative aims at transforming the whole local government into a total modern digital government within a period of 18 months.

A panel, the e-government executive committee, has been set up by Sheikh Mohammad to unify the information technology systems in all government departments in preparation for the introduction of the initiative.

Syrian Culture Minister Maha Ganout, who attended the ceremony, praised the technology revolution witnessed by the UAE. She called on other Arab countries to follow suit, WAM added – Albawaba.com